“My parents didn’t want to move to Florida, but they turned
sixty, and that’s the law.”
Jerry Seinfeld

The snow flurries have yet begun to stick to the ground, and the
migratory pattern of the Great North American Snow Bird begins
to shift in a southerly and westerly course, making a path
towards California, Arizona, and most assuredly and especially,
Florida. The average “nesting” period for folks from Ohio,
Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey and even
the farthest reaches of Canada, will be about three to five
months. Once they’ve landed, some of their favorite past-times
include walking along sandy-white beaches that feel like talcum
powder underfoot, along with playing endless rounds of golf,
swimming in the warm Florida surf, and sunning themselves on
days that native Floridians consider cold and overcast. There
are migratory pattern alerts and updates for the I-95 and I-75
corridors, along with a daily RV count. Evidence of their
arrival has very obvious signs… increased traffic and full
restaurants can be spotted everywhere, as well as overcoats and
sweaters being molted for t-shirts and shorts.

The colder weather up north
also signals an increased workload for medical professionals
south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Medical aficionados
affectionately refer to the medical offices, hospitals, and
clinics of Florida, California and Arizona, as “Medicare Hubs.”
If you consider yourself to be a “snow bird” on the migratory
pattern towards one of these warmer states, you should know that
Medicare is hard at work, upgrading their database, in order to
help make life a little easier for seniors who become ill when
they’re away from home. The renovations to the database will
assist medical professionals and healthcare providers in
checking the status of insurance coverage for patients from
anywhere in the country. This will enable accurate confirmation
of addresses, including those addresses used for only part of
the year, easing the burden of proof of coverage for “snow
birds.” Although this “overhaul” with the database may worry
some about “Big Brother” being flagged to particular, individual
information, people are being assured that the new and improved
database will not include their medical records, maintaining
medical privacy. In fact, the long-range goal for these
improvements is for a single, comprehensive database to be
created for all those enrolled nationally, in both the Medicare
and Medicaid programs. Some of the worst problems of the past,
such as the inability to correctly track the coverage of
Medicare beneficiaries, as well as private insurance
responsibilities, and the crosschecking of dual eligibility of
persons entitled to both Medicare and Medicaid, will hopefully
be eradicated. While the improvements do not include the ability
for healthcare providers to directly access information, it does
allow them to send e-mails to Medicare regarding proof of
specific coverage. While this sounds like the confirmation
process will be no quicker than in the past, the fact that all
needed information is now in one database will decrease research
time considerably, making certain functions easier to track.
When you consider how much time and money will be saved in the
long run, the six million dollar price tag for a database
renovation of this size is relatively cheap.

It’s good to know that our
government is doing something to improve the flow of healthcare
information for so many people, especially “snow birds,” but
what about medical dilemmas on a local level? What does happen
if one becomes ill while so far away from home? Many “snow
birds” do not have a physician in Florida, California, or
Arizona, so when medical problems occur, the situation can
quickly reach beyond just the need for a doctor. Aside from
calling 911, how does a “snow bird” access immediate medical
attention? How can a “snow bird” be sure that the physician that
he or she is about to see is qualified, or even someone they
would want to see under non-emergency circumstances? One
solution is to contact a good home health agency in the area
where a “snow bird” would be residing for the duration of the
winter months. Some home health services can even come to the
home, usually the same day they receive a call, to assess
medical problems and needs. Many family members become
long-distance caregivers when their loved ones leave for winter
homes elsewhere, so working with a reliable home health agency
can take some of the worry away from the caregivers. In fact,
home health agencies can arrange for local caregivers to take
care of the “snow birds” in their own home, helping to alleviate
a long-distance caregiver’s concern over whether they need to
travel to another state, leave other family members and their
job behind, to check on their loved ones. Home health agencies
can also help by making a list of medical supplies that may be
needed for the home, and arrange for these items to be picked-up
and delivered, as well as arrange for doctor appointments,
transportation, and the contacting of family members that may
live elsewhere, keeping them up-to-date on the condition of
their loved one. This can offer everyone peace-of-mind, knowing
that professionals are handling a medical crisis until the
situation stabilizes.

But before leaving for their
winter haven, “snow birds” should be absolutely aware of what
type of medical coverage and health insurance plan they have;
many plans will only pay for “emergency” care when away from
home, and once the situation has subsided or stabilized, the
plan can require the patient to travel back home in order to see
their primary care physician for any further medical treatment
for the condition, other wise, it may not be covered. Keep in
mind that the insurance company decides the definition of what
constitutes an “emergency”, and not the patient, so a risky
chance is being taken if the patient isn’t absolutely sure about
what the guidelines are of their insurance company and medical
coverage. Also remember that the money spent on having to travel
back home is the sole responsibility of the patient.

Many “snow birds” may develop early stages of different diseases
and illnesses, and with time, it becomes much harder to predict
what course the illness will take when the symptoms are beyond
onset. The existence of illness and disease and changes in
symptoms don’t detour the “snow birds” from returning to their
winter homes, so it’s even more important for medical
information to be maintained and accessible. But some of these
folks may have huge medical charts, and they certainly don’t
want to take the chance on losing vital information when
traveling, so what can they do to ensure they have access to all
their medical information at all times? The following is
considered “vital information” by healthcare professionals, and
is necessary to obtain before treatment can begin:
- primary care physician contact information
- drug and food allergies
- pre-existing medical conditions
- medical devices
- blood type
- medications
- past surgical procedures
- all information pertaining to insurance plan

Snowbirds can risk receiving
inaccurate treatment in an emergency because their personal
medical information is not available or up-to-date. Thanks to
computer technology and the art of databasing, several “online”
services offer a way for all medical records and insurance
information to be easily accessed by any doctor’s office or
hospital in the country, and in time, through out the world.
Some of these companies have been around for several years and
are quite experienced at handling sensitive, confidential
information. One must consider all the different places their
medical chart could be – in the primary care physician’s office,
a specialist’s office, hospitals, clinics – all these places
have various filing systems, and to “quickly” locate a file can
be nearly impossible. That’s why online medical filing services
are gaining in popularity, because all needed medical and
insurance information is kept in one, single database – a very
similar concept to what the government has done in updating the
Medicare/Medicaid databases. A reason as simple as a doctor’s
office being closed can hamper the ability to obtain vital
medical information, but with online accessibility, there is no
“closing” time, no “weekend”, and no “vacations.” A patient can
even access their own medical chart online, helping to remove
the cloak of mystery that seems to surround most medical
records. This type of modern technology not only helps “snow
birds,” but also is helpful for business travelers, vacationers,
and exchange students.

So the “age of technology”
meets the traditions of a time-honored, right-of-passage – the
winter migration of the “snow bird.” Not only has the computer
helped to uphold this tradition, but the improvements made in
obtaining vital medical information on both the government and
local levels, have helped to make the experience that much
safer, and also helps in easing the worries of loved ones left
up north.